Thanks to NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Three couples rent an isolated luxury cabin for the weekend. It seems like the perfect opportunity to relax and escape the everyday stresses of high-powered jobs, parenthood and modern life. However, they didn’t bank on quite how remote the cabin is…especially with a violent storm on the way. Sinister elements from the past of the cabin – and its current residents – soon begin to surface. And there is no escape.
I’ve got a bit of a confession here. I know I like Ruth Ware’s books but I’d kind of…put this one off. The title made me think it was going to be about wealthy people living Instagrammable lives – not that I have a problem with that at all, but I kind of need to be in the right mood.
I was wrong and should have read the blurb.
This book is actually about a murder at a fictitious Oxford University college. It centres on Hannah and the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of her discovery of the body of her roommate, April, in their shared rooms. April is the ‘It Girl’ of the novel’s title, bringing champagne, designer clothes and luxury furniture to their digs, but this is much more the story of a friendship group and a university experience gone tragically wrong.
As a life-long bookworm, I’ve made it my mission to read ALL THE BOOKS.
Everything I liked the sound of – added to the TBR. Recommended by someone I trust – added to the TBR. Interesting cover – added to the TBR.
You get the picture – a love of books and an endless TBR.
However, I do (kind of) accept that I cannot read every book.
In fact, my journey into blogging has really made me focus on the elements of books that I really love. I’ve had to really think before I request yet more books – and there are definitely things that tick the boxes for me.
So here we go – an insight into my muddled mind and the TBR that I am desperately trying to tame… I love all these things independently but where they combine is pure magic!
(Disclaimer: I still reserve the right to read randomly and at whim - that's one of the true pleasure of reading!)
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.
Links are provided for books already published – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you!)
What have you recently finished reading?
Since my last update, I finished reading ‘The Art of Death’ by David Fennell, a serial killer crime novel with a female detective, DI Grace Archer. It is such a tense thriller, although definitely quite gruesome at times as Archer and her team find victims’ bodies turned into art installations on the streets of London. This is definitely a brilliant book for keeping readers turning pages – my review will follow
I also read ‘The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires’ by Grady Hendrix. Although it was nothing like I expected (I wanted a middle-aged, book club version of ‘True Blood’!), I did find it engaging.
I loved the idea of a group of women, brought together by their love of books, standing together against a vampire in their safe, middle-class neighbourhood. However, I was less prepared for the quite extreme horror elements – a bit beyond what I’d signed up for with its rats, bugs and dead animals.
Still, it kept me reading as I wanted to see the women – not a cohesive or cosy group by any means – triumph.
Then I read ‘How to Solve a Murder’ by Derek and Pauline Tremain, a rather gruesome but interesting book about forensics. The Tremains worked in the forensic department at Guy’s Hospital (where they met) and this book is packed with information about how deaths are investigated. I’d hoped for some insights into specific cases, but this was more about the science and the people doing the work – recommended for crime fiction fans.
My first book of 2021 was James O’Brien’s ‘How Not to be Wrong: The Art of Changing your Mind’. I really liked this non-fiction look at how broadcaster O’Brien has been led to shift his own world views by callers to his radio show or through the process of therapy. It’s an engaging and lively read, packed with O’Brien’s own reflections, transcripts of his radio show and plenty of food for thought.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading the new Liz Mistry book on NetGalley (‘Dark Memories’) – I loved the previous book in this series featuring DS Nikki Parekh and have so far been caught up in this story about Parekh investigating murders that have connections to her own poverty-stricken childhood in Bradford. The friendship between Parekh and her sidekick, Saj, is just lovely in this book and offsets some of the bleak themes.
I’m also reading ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’by Agatha Christie as a readalong with my blogger friends at The Write Reads. I’m only a few chapters in and remembering all the reasons I loved reading Christie’s books when I was a teenager – the characterisation, the fiendish plotting, the red herrings… I love it all!
‘The Appeal’ by Janice Hallett is also on my current reading pile – I’m reading this as a buddy read with Locky Loves Books. It’s a really unusual crime fiction book in that it is all written as emails, voicemail transcrips, texts and notes between the main protagonists surrounding a murder in a small community (and the lawyers who are trying to piece together the solution at the same time as the reader). Highly original and absolutely brilliant!
And (because three books on the go isn’t enough!) I’m also reading ‘Maiden Voyages: Women and the Golden Age of Transatlantic Travel’ by Sian Evans. This is a very readable non-fiction book about women travellers mainly between the wars. The opening chapters deal with the Titanic and the ‘Unsinkable’ Violet Jessop before moving on to war time and the tragedy of the Lusitania. It’s fascinating stuff so far!
What do you think you will read next?
I have so many books, thanks to Christmas and my Waterstones’ sale spree – I am very lucky to be drowning in books. My husband is less happy about the amount of books in our house right now…
I do have a book to read for a blog tour – ‘Silent Graves’ by Sally Rigby, a crime fiction novel in the Cavendish and Walker series. I haven’t read previous books but I am totally intrigued by the fact this is a female DCI partnered with a female forensic psychologist to solve the historical murders of teenage girls who were killed in 1980.
Aside from this, I’ve got my eye on some more crime fiction – it’s becoming a bit of an obsession! I’m tempted by ‘The Jigsaw Man’ by Nadine Matheson as I won a proof, plus ‘One by One’ by Ruth Ware (who has been described as a modern-day Christie – perfect!)
So that’s me for this week! As always, thanks to NetGalley, publishers, my family and my ever-dwindling bank account for keeping me in great books.
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Taking on a World of Words. Anyone can take part and it is a great way of sharing what you have just finished reading, what you are currently reading and what is next on the TBR.
Links are provided for books already published – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you!)
What have you recently finished reading?
Yay, it’s the school holidays so I have the gift of more reading time! Unfortunately, 2020 also gifted me Covid, so I haven’t been able to make the most of my time because I feel like my brain is full of cotton wool.
Still, since last WWW Wednesday, I read Mel Giedroyc’s ‘The Best Things’ which I hoped would be fun and uplifting – and it mostly was. This is the story of a wealthy family who fall on hard times and learn to be resourceful to get through. I love Mel Giedroyc and her humour does come through in the book – review to follow.
I also finished my audiobook of Sandi Toksvig reading ‘Toksvig’s Almanac 2021’ which is packed with interesting snippets of information about women who have (mostly) been forgotten by history and yet did really notable things. I did enjoy the lively narration but felt that the contents of the book don’t really lend themselves to a cohesive listening experience – I’ve got a hardback copy of the book that I plan to look at too in order to pick up the bits I missed on the audio.
What are you reading now?
In order to combat the brain fog, I’ve gone for a fast-paced and lively read! I’m reading ‘The Art of Death’ by David Fennell, a serial killer crime novel with a female detective, DI Grace Archer. So far the killer has taken to displaying murder victims as art installations on the streets of London and it is fair to say I’m hooked…
What do you think you will read next?
I’m going to continue with the crime novels as this seems to be keeping me reading at the moment!
I’ve just been granted access to the new Liz Mistry book on NetGalley (‘Dark Memories’) – I loved the previous book in this series featuring DS Nikki Parekh and cannot wait to read this one.
I’ve also just bought ‘One by One’ by Ruth Ware after hearing so many great reviews.
So that’s me for this week! As always, thanks to NetGalley for keeping me in great books in exchange for honest reviews.
Header photo with thanks to Aaron Burden for sharing their work on Unsplash.
